No Time Like the Present
by Val.Orr
Summary: Kim Possible is thirty years old, and overseeing a new team of heroes while working for Global Justice. Hot headed young heroine Val Orr is a handful, but no one anticipates what happens when she and Kim run into Shego at her most dangerous. Not even the woman who has seen an entire lifetime's worth of the future.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: I claim no ownership over any intellectual property - characters or otherwise - owned by Disney. I do claim ownership of original characters, and plot. Reviews are appreciated. I hope you enjoy!_

The Commander sat in her office, drenched in the dim blue glow of multiple computer monitors. Each screen displayed different information - news channels, scrolling text, and live feeds of remote locations all fought for her attention. Her focus, however, was on the much smaller screen of her communication device, resting on her desk. Fingers tangled in long, red hair, she rubbed her temples while she watched the hologram of a twenty one year old girl pacing back and forth before her.

"Ugh, these people are SO WEIRD." The girl's too-tired-for-her-years tone read clearly through the holo-call's audio. Despite its miniature size, the image was crisp, belying every ounce of frustration in her body language. Long brown hair, pulled into a ponytail, did nothing to conceal the tightness in her shoulders as she paced. The tank top she wore on missions exposed her arms - it had been an hour since she'd returned home, but every muscle was still flexed. She was the image of her pent up frustration.

"That doesn't discount the fact that they're dangerous, Val." It was a stern reminder, but the Commander was at wit's end. Unfortunately, so was her charge.

"Yeah frankly, I think they're getting in their own way with the gimmicks. Just throw the fucking grenade. Throw it." Exasperated, Val advised her absent opposition. "I can see where you're lining up to swing the fucking golf club. Like, it's actually _not_ rocket science!"

The Commander raised an eyebrow. "So this one was too easy?"

Val caught herself. "No, I don't mean it's too easy. Don't take it the wrong way Kim, you're awesome and you've always been a total hero but like fuck, dude. Didn't you ever feel kinda - I don't know." She leveled her tone, asking in earnest. "Didn't you ever feel kinda fucking dumb taking some of these crackpots seriously? Like training and showing up in combats ready to go head to head with some fucking nutcase in a pink sweater with a rabid... _bumblebear_? I don't know."

Kim smirked, despite the insubordination. "Commander."

Val's pacing figure stopped moving abruptly. "Shit. Sorry. Commander."

"Listen, Valerie," Kim began, choosing her words carefully. "Yes. I was frustrated a lot of the time. In fact, I continue to be frustrated. But don't forget that these are genuine threats. They're brilliant and unstable, and the gimmicks are manifestations of dangerous, righteous anger. Let it distract them. Don't let it distract you. Got it?" In the hologram, Kim could see the tension in Val's shoulders ease. She took that as encouragement, and continued. "If you find a competitive edge against any of them, it's because you have talent. Keep your head down and focus, okay? This is practice. You'll get higher level assignments if you keep doing well."

Val had already worn herself out. "You're right Commander. I'm sorry. Thanks, a lot, for listening."

"No biggie, Val. I'm sure we'll be in touch soon."

"Yup." Val tapped her wrist and ended the call.

Kim sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair, staring at the now silent Kimmunicator on her desk. There wasn't much time to relax. The Kimmunicator rang, and Kim reflexively answered. A familiar face appeared on the screen. "Dr. Director. What's the sitch?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: I claim no ownership over any intellectual property - characters or otherwise - owned by Disney. I do claim ownership of original characters, and plot. Reviews are appreciated. I hope you enjoy!_

Val stood alone in her room and stared thoughtfully at the blank screen of her communicator. Kim had recruited her for Global Justice a year prior. Almost immediately, Val had filled the vacancy that that GJ - and the world - had been waiting for since Kim had become an adult. Youth and naivety, it seemed, was very good for GJ's optics. For a year, Val had never vented her frustrations so candidly as she just had. Deciding it would be useless to overthink the conversation, she focused on the next task at hand - a long shower.

The exhausted hero took a deep breath, relaxing her muscles and letting her communicator drop to the floor. Hours earlier, Killigan's caddy had cracked her in the ribs with a nine iron. The soreness and stiffening had long since set in. Tugging gingerly at the bottom of her black muscle shirt, she steeled her jaw as she pulled the shirt, then her sports bra over her head. In the full length mirror hanging from her closed door, Val admired an already florid bruise.

Her communicator rang.

"Fuck." Val grimaced at the pain in her ribs as she bent to pick up the device.

She held tapped the screen to accept a video call, "What's up Shelley?"

A blonde, blue eyed girl wearing a headset responded gleefully. "Buckle up! We have another mission. Two in one day!"

"What? Where are we going?"

Shelley smirked, "_We_ are sending _you_ to retrieve a copy of a very important manuscript. An undercover GJ agent located it in the library at Lowerton Community College, of all places. Take a look at your mirror."

Val did as she was told. "Lowerton Community College," she mumbled, as she looked at the image displayed on her mirror. A 3D model of a book rotated in front of her. It was plainly bound in what looked like the brown faux leather of most encyclopedias, and was medium size at about 300 pages long. The spine and cover were both embossed with the title and author's name: "Ennui Through History" by Debra O. Creek.

"Looks exciting," Val quipped.

"It is!" Shelley exclaimed. Her bright eyes shone, cheeks flush with excitement. "This is the only copy of an incredibly important key. The cipher it unlocks has been unbreakable - until now!"

Val raised an eyebrow. "Ok I bite. What does the cipher do?"

Shelley shrugged.

"Right," Val said, "need to know. Is it ok if I don't shower?"

Shelley laughed, "You're disgusting. Just don't wear your mission outfit. We're trying to keep this one on the DL. Less GI Jane, more college student, ok?"

Val rolled her eyes. "I am a college student."

"Then you got this! Your ride's on the curb - I think you're gonna like it. Get changed. You've got five minutes." Shelley's smiling face disappeared as she ended the call and the screen went black.

Val rolled her eyes, dramatically letting her head drop back toward her shoulders. "It's go time," she reminded herself, and set to getting dressed.

Some short minutes later, Val was tripping lightly down the front stairs of the three story apartment building she called home. Freshly clad in black leggings and a matching tee shirt, she felt odd to be out of uniform en route to a mission. She had, however, kept her combat boots out of practicality and comfort.

A black cafe racer was parked directly outside her building, with a matching full face helmet and leather jacket sitting on the seat. Val grinned and wasted no time throwing on both the jacket and helmet. Shelley's face appeared in view in the left hand corner of the face mask. "Shelley, you're the bomb!" Val exclaimed. She started the bike. "Can I keep it?"

Shelley was quick to respond. "Four minutes and 37 seconds - not bad, given two cracked ribs. It's a prototype, so I'll need it back when this mission is over. Don't worry, you'll see her again!"

"Two cracked ribs, huh?" Val stated, mildly surprised.

"Yeah, I ran a scan on you earlier. You really got whacked. So let's avoid physical altercations at all costs on this one, kay?" Shelley sounded concerned. "It's a 25 minute ride from here to LCC, so we have time to review the mission on the way. Directions are up on your screen…" Val heard Shelley typing over the helmet's headset, "…now."

As Val pulled into traffic, revving the engine in an attempt to beat Shelley's 25 minute estimate, Shelley gave her the rundown. "The book is in LCC's reference library. We don't believe the school is aware of what they have. It looks like it was donated recently by the child of a former student. Others out there might have eyes on it now, but we don't know who. You have to get in, and get the book out, without setting off any alarms. Shouldn't be too tough. Just find it, disable the security device, and walk out. I'll get you directions to a drop point once it's out of the building."

"Sounds easy." Val said.

"Always does!" Shelley replied cheerfully.

Eighteen minutes later, Val was pulling into the Lowerton Community College parking lot. She parked the bike outside the library, but kept the helmet on for a moment longer to talk to Shelley through the visor. "Alright, any new gadgets?"

"Of course! Check your pockets. New wireless ear buds that mold to your ear will keep me talking to you and won't get knocked out of your head! Sorry about the ones that uh, did, get knocked out of your head. That was a solid kick."

Val snorted. "Anything else?"

Shelley grinned "An LCC student ID will get you in the building, and is accompanied by a fashionable lanyard made of super strong woven mecha-metal. Use enough force wrapping it around something, and it will hold its shape. That's all. Sorry. Second mission of the day sorta caught me low on new toys."

Valerie removed the helmet and reached in the pockets of her jacket. She pulled out the student ID, hanging the lanyard around her neck, and put the earbuds in her ears. "Shelley, I think these'll be just fine."

The Lowerton Community College reference library was as inspiring a building as it sounded. It was a beautiful spring day, but even blue skies and a warm April breeze did nothing for the brutalist concrete cube that loomed over the asphalt parking lot. "Nice place," she commented dryly.

She immediately regretted it. As she tapped her ID to the scanner by the door, Shelley's voice came over the headphones. "Val, community colleges are the backbone of our higher education system. Be respectful!"

"Didn't you just learn everything you know on the internet?" Val retorted.

"Yes, but I was also a Young Mensan and crashed Twitter for 24 hours when I was twelve. You want to take a left past the front desk."

Val walked into the library and followed Shelley's directions silently, not wanting to draw attention in the relatively crowded space. It was 4pm and the library was full of students. Thankfully, most of them were concentrated at tables and computers, and not actively seeking literature in the stacks.

Val found herself in a deserted row of books, staring directly at "Ennui Through History". She reached for the book, cautiously pulling it off the shelf as though it could be booby trapped. "Got it," she whispered, hoping only Shelley would hear.

"Great!" Shelley said. "I'm really proud of you, champ. The security device is in the spine. I updated your communicator so it can disable the device, just run the scanner over the whole spine."

Val shook her head as she followed instructions, wishing she could speak aloud to Shelley. The communicator beeped.

"Nice job," Shelley congratulated Val. "I'm not picking up any identifiable threats right now, but stay alert. Stuff the book under your coat and take her out the front door."

Val was happy to comply, and did her best to keep her pace measured as she retraced her steps out of the library. She breathed a tentative sigh of relief as she stepped back into the warm spring air, and headed toward the bike. "So," she asked Shelley, "Do we at least know who Debra O. Creek is?"

Shelley didn't respond until Val had removed her earbuds and put the helmet back on. "I wanted you to see my face," she said from the visor's screen "so you could see how disappointed I am in that question."

Val started the engine. "What? And directions please."

The sound of typing, and then a map appeared. "Work on it in your spare time. I've already notified Commander Possible that you're headed to the drop off point. A GJ agent will be there waiting with a helicopter to take the book. When you see him, say, 'The wind in the trees makes a lovely sound.' If he's not compromised, he'll say 'Not as lovely as the sound of still skies.'"

"That's incredibly dramatic," Val complained.

"I don't write the rules. You should be there shortly. Good luck!"

Val navigated the new route, wondering all the while what the catch was - this had been, so far, an exceptionally simple mission with none of the usual hijinks. With some difficulty, the girl pushed aside the feeling of being nothing but a messenger for Global Justice. She sped to the drop off point, eager to be rid of the book in her jacket. Val was certain something bigger was going on, and she wanted to know what it was.

_Author's note: Thanks for reading! I'm looking forward to some action soon, and more canon characters. If you're inclined to review, I appreciate any input, but would especially love comments on pacing and descriptions. Stay posted - a new chapter is coming soon!_


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